Córa Gillic

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Córa Gillic is a lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Institute of Education, St. Patrick's Campus. Córa is a Montessori trained  early childhood teacher, and prior to joining the Institute, worked with young children from 1-8 years in a variety of early childhood settings (day-care, Montessori and primary schools).
Córa has a keen interest in mathematics in the early years. Her BA research explored the beliefs and pedagogical practices of early childhood practitioners in relation to mathematics in preschool settings. Her Masters research considered the use of a learning trajectory approach in documenting and planning for preschool children's spatial awareness during play. Córa's doctoral research focuses on mathematics education in the preschool sector.

Research Interests: early childhood mathematics pedagogy and curriculum, early STE(A)M education, reflective practice, the use of young children's schemas as a curriculum planning tool, and the adoption of a playful pedagogy in the early years of primary school.

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2023 O'Neill, Sandra; Gillic, Cora; O'Reilly, Nicola (2023) 'Hungry for more: early childhood educators' perspectives on STEM education, teaching and professional development'. Irish Educational Studies, 42 (4). [DOI]
2021 Córa Gillic (2021) 'They'd floor you, they really would. They are capable of learning anything. Irish preschool practitioners' self-reported practices on young children learning mathematics'. An Leanbh Óg: OMEP Ireland journal of early childhood studies, 14 (1). [Link]
2020 Gillic, C (2020) 'Exploring a Learning Trajectory Approach to Developing Spatial Awareness in Preschool Aged Children'. An Leanbh Óg: OMEP Ireland journal of early childhood studies, 13 .

Conference Publication

Year Publication
2022 O’Neill, S., Gillic, C., & Power, J, W. (2022) National Early Years Research Day Proceedings, Early Childhood Ireland Using Communities of Practice to Support STEM Education in Early Childhood Care and Education: A Proposal
2021 Córa Gillic (2021) MEI 8 Eighth Conference on Research in Mathematics in Ireland Responding to Children's (Mathematical) Thinking in Preschool Dublin, Ireland,
2019 Nic Mhuirí, S., Farrell, T., Gillic, C, & Kingston, M. (2019) Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland Planning for Teaching Mathematics: Negotiation of Shared Intentions

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2018 Cora Gillic (2018) Early Childhood Ireland Annual Conference 'Laying the Foundations': Irish Early Years Practitioner's Perspectives on the Importance of Mathematics in Early Childhood Dublin, .

Thesis

Year Publication
2019 Córa Gillic (2019) Exploring the Use of a Learning Trajectory Approach in Documenting and Planning for Preschool Children's Spatial Awareness: An Evaluative Case Study. THES

Bulletin

Year Publication
2017 Gillic, C. (2017) 'Laying the Foundations': Irish Early Years Practitioner's Perspectives on the Importance of Mathematics in Early Childhood. BULL [DOI]

Published Report

Year Publication
2023 French, G.; McKenna, G. (2023) Literature review to support the updating of Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, . [Link]
2023 Sandra O'Neill; Córa Gillic; Mary Kingston (2023) Pedagogical Strategies, Approaches and Methodologies to Support Numeracy in Early Childhood. Department of Education Government of Ireland, . https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7881705

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2023 Gillic, C.; Govern, C. (2023) 'NURTURING YOUNG CHILDREN’S EMERGING SENSE OF PLACE IN PRESCHOOL SETTINGS' In: Encountering Ideas of Place in Education: Scholarship and Practice in Place-based Learning. [Link] [DOI]

Edited Book

Year Publication
2024 Dr Brian Mooney (Ed.). (2024) The Early Childhood STEAM Network An Established Community of Practice. Ireland: Education Matters, [Link]

Literary Review

Year Publication
2022 McNally, S., Gillic, C., O (2022) Parents as facilitators of young children's STEAM learning in early childhood: A Literature Review. Ireland: Litr
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Association Function From / To
European Early Childhood Research Association Member 31/12/2023 - 31/12/2024
Association of Childhood Professionals Member 03/10/2016 - 05/07/2021
Children's Research Network Ireland and NI Member 03/07/2017 - 05/07/2024
OMEP Ireland Member 02/10/2017 - 05/10/2020
British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics Member 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
British Educational Research Association Member 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2024

Committees

Committee Function From / To
MEI 9 2023 Scientific Committee -
CASTeL Management Committee -
SMEC 2024 Scientific Committee 05/02/2024 - 14/06/2024

Employment

Employer Position From / To
Portobello Institute Assistant Lecturer 04/02/2019 - 30/09/2019
Dublin City University Research Assistant 05/08/2019 - 19/08/2019

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
NUI Galway Bachelor of Arts
NUI Galway Bachelor of Arts
Portobello Institute of Further Education Diploma in Montessori Teaching
DCU, Institute of Education Master of Education

Other Activities

Description
Joint convenor of PLÉ SIG in Early Childhood Mathematics Education

Enterprise Engagement

Year Engagement Type Client Description
2022 Continuous Professional Development/Training Carrick-on-Shannon Education Centre Delivering CPD to primary school teachers in the area of early childhood mathematics

Outreach Activities

Year Engagement Type Organisation Description
2022 Other Rockford Manor Secondary School Conducting Mock Job Interviews for the Early Childhood Sector

Research Interests

Early Childhood Mathematics - curriculum and pedagogy

STE(A)M education in early childhood

Reflective practice in early childhood settings
The use of video as a tool for reflective practice
Transition from preschool to primary (developing professional relationships)
The schemas of young children
Play as a pedagogy in the early years of primary school

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date
Aistear Literature Review Researcher 24/09/2021 13/04/2022
Maths4All Team Member 01/01/2020 31/12/2020
Towards a New Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy: A Review of Literature’ Author 03/05/2021 04/05/2023
Doodle STEAM Researcher 01/02/2022 30/06/2022
Mathematics Teaching Practices Toolkit Team Member 07/01/2019 20/12/2019

Internal Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
Internal Dr Sinéad McNally DCU Academic
Internal Sandra O'Neill DCU Academic
Internal Nicola O'Reilly DCU Academic
Internal Prof. Hamsa Venkat Dublin City University Academic
Internal Dr Siún NicMhuirí Dublin City University Academic

External Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
External Julie Winget-Power TU Dublin Academic

Teaching Interests

B Ed 1: ED1011 Foundations in Education and Early Childhood Education
Play Language and Learning

B Ed 2: ED2033  Reflection and Enquiry

B ED2: ED 2032 STEM and Early Childhood Education
Mathematics in the Early Years

B ED2: EC223 Children's Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care

B Ed 4: ED4015 Research Project  - Mathematics in the Infant classes

Modules Coordinated

Term Title Subject
2023 2024 Children's Participation in Early Childhood Education and Care EC223
2023 2024 Science and Mathematics in the Early Years ED2032